[unreadable] This is a proposal to support the 18 International Congress on Fibrinolysis and Proteolysis: Proteolysis in the Postgenomic Era, to be held August 27-31, 2006, in San Diego, California, in the San Diego Convention Center. The study of fibrinolysis and extracellular proteolysis is a rapidly moving field at the interface of biomedical research, clinical medicine, and biotechnology. The components of the fibrinolytic system play a role in diseases of the heart, lung, brain, liver and kidneys, and imbalances in this system frequently result in either thrombosis or hemorrhagic diatheses. Recent emerging data have begun to elucidate key roles for proteins of the fibrinolytic system and other proteases in normal neurological function and in the pathogenesis of stroke. Other recent data are emerging that document key roles of this system in metabolic syndrome. Thrombotic diseases, including myocardial infarction and stroke, are the leading cause of death in the United States. New data have also revealed that proteases of the fibrinolytic system and other extracellular proteases are key players in inflammation, cancer, neurologic disease, infectious disease, osteoporosis, obesity, hormonal dysfunction, arthritis and aging. The roles of fibrinolytic and other extracellular proteases in the normal physiologic processes of cell migration, angiogenesis, wound healing, apoptosis as fibrinolysis/thrombolysis, tissue remodeling, development, vascular biology, angiogenesis, inflammation, cell migration, fertility, tumor invasion and metastasis are being increasingly recognized. The major objective of the congress is to advance the study of fibrinolysis and extracellular proteolysis and to promote bridging and crossfertilization linking basic studies with clinical and therapeutic aspects of the field and to promote the advancement of the field by infusion of the latest technologies that can be applied to these studies. This will be accomplished by highlighting the most recent developments in understanding the mechanisms by which proteases, receptors and regulatory molecules contribute to disease and homeostasis. The latest trends in thrombolytic therapy will be highlighted. Studies utilizing proteases and protease inhibitors as both therapeutic agents and therapeutic targets will be discussed. In addition, the latest proteomic approaches and developments in in vivo dynamic imaging techniques will be introduced. Other topics to be presented include the function of membrane anchored proteases and the role of extracellular proteolysis in apoptosis. We anticipate attendance of a group of -600 registrants, composed of established scientists, new investigators and trainees in both basic and clinical aspects of fibrinolysis and proteolysis. The congress is expected to provide insights and stimulate new developments in thrombolytic therapy, protease-based therapies, angiogenesis, [unreadable] atherogenesis, cancer, inflammation, neuroendocrine function, tumor biology, infectious disease, muscular dystrophinopathies, hormonal dysfunction, arthritis and aging and should stimulate new research into the roles of fibrinolytic and other extracellular proteases in these processes. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]